In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

~~

Review:

Many years ago I received an ARC copy of this book from Emma at Bloomsbury. I'd recently read Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns from her Bitter Kingdom series, so was keen to get my teeth into another fantasy series. There is something about women writing fantasy that makes it far more enjoyable than men. Maybe it's the way women writers use more emotion into the story to provoke our hearts rather than the story being the plot and summation that follows.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

~~

Review:

I must write before this review starts that I've read this book three times now. Most recently to refresh my memory for the purpose of this review.

This story has three parts. Life before, life at the Manor, and life Under the Mountain. It would also be prudent of me to say I didn't think I'd like this book after the first few chapters. Much like when I started The Iron King series by Julie Kagawa, and having read Throne of Glass series from the very beginning, it's always a little strange to read something new from a writer you like. I didn't think I'd like this because I didn't think I was young enough to enjoy it.